Memories Are Forever (A McRoll in the REAL World Story)
by ilna
Summary: Steve, Catherine, Angie, and DJ grow closer as a family while decorating their Christmas tree.


**Notes:** Huge thanks to Mari and Sammy for the squeal-inducing feedback. You're the best, ladies!

Readers and REAL McRollers - Thank you for your amazing support! It is always appreciated.

**Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

_Memories Are Forever (A McRoll in the REAL World Story)_

"It's so big!" DJ said, eyes wide as he stared up at the Christmas tree in the living room.

"So biiiig!" Angie echoed, arms wide as if she wanted to give the tree a hug.

DJ looked at Steve. "It's taller than you!"

Steve grinned. "It is."

"Are you ready for the lights?" Catherine asked.

DJ nodded rapidly and, seeing his reaction, Angie copied him.

"Three, two, one, ta da!" Catherine said, hitting the floor switch that turned on the hundreds of multi-colored lights on the tree.

"Ah-eeeeee!" Angie squealed, jumping in place and clapping. "P'itty!" She pointed up the stairs. "P'itty!"

"They're like the lights in Angie's room," DJ said.

"Mmhmm," Catherine agreed. "Because someone couldn't bear taking all the Christmas decorations down last year, and someone else couldn't bear disappointing his daughter." She looked first at Angie, then at Steve with a smirk.

"I have no regrets," he said.

"I never saw such a big tree with lights in somebody's house," DJ said. "We didn't have a tree before. And when I lived with my grandma, she had this little white tree that kinda changed colors …" he tried to explain.

"That's called a fiber-optic tree," Catherine told him. "I've seen those around, too. But we like the big green ones that look real with lots of room for lights and ornaments."

DJ smiled broadly. "Me, too."

"Did someone say 'ornaments'?" Steve asked, opening a green tub. "We're gonna need some help getting all these on the tree. Do you two know anyone who might want to help?" He looked at Angie and DJ, raising an eyebrow.

"Me!" DJ said, raising a hand excitedly.

"Me!" Angie echoed, jumping with both hands in the air.

"Oh good," Catherine said, feigning relief. "For a second I thought we were going to have to hang all these ourselves." She knelt down by the tub with Steve and motioned the kids over. "We have a lot of special ornaments in here. Do you want to hear about them?"

DJ nodded emphatically and Angie followed suit.

"Okay, pick one out and we'll tell you about it before we hang it on the tree," Steve said.

"Oooh," Angie said, reaching for the wooden Donald Duck ornament.

"Ahh, now that's Mommy's favorite sailor," Steve teased, looking at Catherine.

"Second favorite," she said, gently taking the ornament from Angie and holding it by the top string in front of her. "Watch this." She tugged on the string at the bottom and Donald's arms and legs moved.

Angie gasped, reaching for the string. "I do!"

"Go ahead, honey," Catherine said. "Pull."

Angie pulled the red string, her smile widening as the ornament moved. "Ee da'ce, Mommy!"

Catherine beamed. "He _is_ dancing. That's right." She and Steve exchanged a smile, remembering how they'd thought about a child of theirs playing with that ornament.

"DJ do!" Angie said, grabbing his arm.

"Do you want to try, DJ?" Catherine asked.

He nodded eagerly and reached for the string, giving it a tug. "That's so cool!"

"I've had this ornament since I was a little girl. My parents saved it for me."

"Why doesn't he have any pants on?" DJ asked.

Steve laughed. "That is a very good question."

"Should we put him up on the tree?" Catherine asked.

"T'ee!" Angie said, nodding.

"Okay, let me help you, baby girl," Catherine said, shuffling over on her knees with Angie, then giving her the ornament string. "How about right here?" She held a low branch and helped Angie fit the loop of string over it.

"Ta da!" Angie said, pointing then clapping.

Catherine smiled. "The first ornament on the tree."

Angie reached over and grabbed the bottom string, tugging it to make Donald Dance but instead it clattered to the ground.

"Uh oh," Angie said, bending to pick it up.

"Uh oh," Catherine echoed. They got it back on the tree and she guided Angie back to the ornament tub. "Let's look at some more ornaments. DJ, your turn to pick one."

"Look at this," he said, reaching in the tub for a box with a picture of a Santa Claus in a football helmet and jersey on it.

"That's one of mine from when I was a kid," Steve told him. "Go ahead, open it up. Let's get him on the tree."

DJ's whole face brightened as he took out the ornament. "Football," he said. "Like we played at Thanksgiving."

"That's right," Steve said, smiling. "Let's go find him a good spot on the tree."

Steve stood and walked over with DJ to help him hang the Santa ornament.

"Here?" DJ asked, pointing to a spot.

"Looks good to me. What do you think?"

"Yeah," DJ said, and hung the ornament using the plastic hook.

"Perfect," Catherine said, smiling. She motioned them back to the tub. "Let's do some more."

They went through more of the ornaments, giving short descriptions of what they were and where they came from. Catherine's Victorian carolers from Aunt Louise, the minion ornament Jacob had made a few years ago at the height of his minion-mania, Nonna's unbreakable red and silver glass ball, and more.

"Cammie!" Angie squealed when Catherine took out the small dog ornament Steve had gotten because it looked so much like their beloved dog.

From her bolster bed, Cammie raised her head at the sound of her name.

"Yes, this is our Cammie ornament," Catherine said. "Isn't it, pretty girl?" She smiled at Cammie as the dog joined them.

"What's that one?" DJ asked as Steve took out a box.

"This is a special one I picked out for my dad when I was just a little younger than you are right now," Steve said. He carefully unwrapped the golden glass ball with a plaid stripe around the middle and "Dad" printed on it. "My sister Mary dropped it accidentally once and it broke a little," he explained, turning the ball so DJ and Angie could see where some of the ball was missing. "But my dad kept it anyway and hung it on the tree every year."

Catherine smiled. "So now we do, too," she said. "We usually hang it up first, but we thought this year we'd start a new tradition."

DJ touched the golden ball delicately with a finger. "It says 'Dad,' " he said quietly.

Steve smiled softly. "It does." He watched DJ staring at the ornament. "Would you like to hang it up?"

DJ's eyes widened. "Are you sure?"

Steve nodded. "Absolutely." He held it out. "Go ahead."

DJ took the ornament reverently and carefully walked over to the tree, Angie following at his side. He was paying such close attention to how he was holding the ball that he snagged a foot on the tree skirt and tripped. He managed to catch himself but the ornament fell from his hands and broke into pieces on the floor.

"Uh oh!" Angie said immediately and reached down.

"Angie, no!" Catherine said, lunging to stop her but not before Angie grabbed a jagged piece of the ornament.

"Ow!" she said immediately, dropping the piece when it cut her finger. "Momm–"

Catherine scooped her up before she could even finish the word, starting to cry at the sight of blood.

Steve swiftly moved to Catherine's side and they both looked at the injury, relaxing immediately when it was obvious it was just a small cut. Steve turned to check on DJ.

"Careful of the glass by your feet …" he began, stopping when he saw DJ's panicked eyes.

"Sorry," he whispered, barely audible. "I'm sorry." Tears filled his eyes and he ran for the stairs.

"Go," Catherine told Steve. "I'll get her cleaned up."

He nodded, kissing Angie's head, then moving to follow DJ upstairs as Catherine headed toward the bathroom, murmuring softly to Angie as Cammie kept pace at her heels.

"It's okay, honey," she said, kissing Angie's head. "You're okay. Everything is okay."

* * *

"DJ?" Steve called, stopping in his doorway but not seeing him. He heard a small sniffle coming from the closet and walked slowly in that direction. "DJ, are you okay? You didn't step on any glass or anything did you?"

"No," came the quiet reply.

"Okay, good." He paused, and when DJ stayed in the closet, he asked, "Can you come out here, please?"

"Do I have to?" DJ replied, his voice small and shaky.

"I'd like to look at you while we talk."

DJ gulped back a sob. "Are you gonna yell at me?"

"What?" Steve balked. "No. No, of course not," he said, stepping closer to the closet door.  
"But Angie got hurt."

"She's fine," Steve assured him. "It was just a little cut. Catherine is getting her cleaned up, and you know something? She loves bandaids, so she is more than fine right now, she's probably pretty happy." When DJ still didn't come out, he continued. "It was an accident, DJ. I know you would never do anything to intentionally hurt Angie."

"I wouldn't," DJ said fervently.

"I know." He put a hand on the closed door. "So can you please come out now?"

There was a long pause, then DJ sniffed loudly. "I broke your ornament."

"It was an accident," Steve said.

"You're gonna be mad at me."

"I'm not mad at you. I promise I am not mad at you."

"But it was special. You said so."

Steve nodded, though DJ couldn't see him from inside the closet. "I know, I did say that. It _was_ special, but at the end of the day, it's a thing. And things aren't as important as people. They're not as important as memories." He leaned closer to the door. "I still have the memory of giving that ornament to my Dad when I was about your age. I have the memory of my sister dropping it but my dad keeping it anyway and hanging it on the tree year after year. And I have the memory of finding it a couple years ago and realizing my dad had kept it even when I didn't live here. I have all those memories, and they're not going away just because the ornament is broken. Memories … they're forever."

There was a long pause, then slowly, the door started to move. Steve backed up just enough for it to slide open. DJ, his face red and tear-stained, looked up at him from the floor. Steve gave him a small smile and squatted down to be more on his eye level.

"You ready to come out yet?"

DJ glanced around inside the closet. "My aunt and uncle would make me go in the closet when I did something wrong," he said quietly.

Steve's jaw clenched minutely but otherwise he kept his reaction hidden.

"This one is better," DJ said, looking at the floor beneath him. "There's carpet."

Steve shifted to sit on the floor and reached a hand out for DJ, quietly desperate to get him out of the closet but not wanting to show just how much and scare him. The young boy hesitated for only a second before putting his hand in Steve's and letting Steve gently pull him out and into a hug.

"I don't like that they did that," Steve said, a far cry from what he wanted to say. "And I don't want you to think you need to go into the closet when something happens or you think you did something wrong." He held DJ by the arms and gently pulled him back enough to look at him. "I'd rather you talk to me and Catherine face to face, okay? Do you think you can do that?"

DJ nodded slowly. "I'll try."

Steve smiled and gave him another hug. "Good." He pulled back again. "But to be clear, you didn't do anything wrong. Dropping the ornament was an accident."

"But–"

"No buts, it was an accident. I'm never going to get mad about something like that, okay?"

DJ sniffed, wiping his nose. "Like the pie?"

Steve's lip quirked in a little smile. "Like the pie. That was an accident, too, right?"

DJ nodded.

"And no one was mad," Steve reminded him. "In fact, more than one person was kind of relieved. And the ornament …" He shook his head at himself. "I should have had it protected, maybe put in a case or something because it was only a matter of time before it broke. But I liked the idea of keeping it like my dad had it. That was my fault."

DJ watched him, calmer but still a little tentative, and Steve paused, debating whether to ask his next question. Finally deciding it was necessary, he said, "DJ, did you think that we would be so mad about the ornament that we wouldn't want you to stay with us anymore?"

DJ's head dropped as his tears returned. He nodded minutely.

Steve immediately pulled him into a firm hug. "That is _never_ going to happen," he said, his voice rough with his own emotion. He pulled back just a little and leaned down so he could look in DJ's eyes. "We want you here. In our family. This is your home now, DJ. You belong here with us. And nothing you or anyone else does is going to change that. Do you hear me? _Nothing_."

At that, the dam finally broke. DJ threw his arms around Steve's neck and hung on tight. Steve blinked back his own tears, holding him close.

"So no more hiding, okay?" Steve said.

DJ nodded against his neck, still hugging him.

With a final squeeze, Steve released him and asked, "Are you ready to go back down? We've still got lots of tree to decorate."

DJ smiled, nodding. "Yeah."

Steve pushed himself up as DJ also stood. He looked down as DJ grabbed his hand and squeezed it. Smiling, he squeezed back.

"Come on," he said. "Bet Angie's just dyin' to show you her bandaid."

* * *

"DJ, see!" Angie exclaimed from Catherine's arms as soon as she spotted him and Steve coming down the stairs. She held up her finger, now sporting a colorful bandaid. "Pa'twoh," she said.

"Told you," Steve whispered to DJ as they descended the stairs.

DJ smiled up at him, wiping at his eyes with one hand while keeping hold of Steve's in the other.

Angie squirmed to get down from Catherine's arms and then both she and Cammie went up a couple steps to meet him.

"See," Angie said again, thrusting her finger into DJ's face.

"It's Paw Patrol," he said, smiling. "Cool."

"See, Daddy," Angie said, now showing Steve.

"I see," Steve said, releasing DJ's hand to pick Angie up. He kissed first her finger, then her cheek.

Catherine knelt to hug DJ and Cammie pushed her head gently against his side in comfort.

"I'm sorry I broke the ornament and Angie got hurt," DJ said quietly.

Catherine brushed his hair back and gave him another hug. "I know, honey. It's okay. It was an accident. I already cleaned it all up."

"Mo' t'ee," Angie said, pointing toward the tree.

"What do you think, DJ? Do you want to hang some more ornaments?" Catherine asked.

He glanced up at Steve who smiled encouragingly. Looking back at Catherine, he nodded. "Yeah."

"Good," she said, standing and turning toward the tree. She kept a comforting hand on his shoulder, guiding him back into the living room. "Because we have a couple of special ornaments we were saving for last … but I think now would be the perfect time."

Steve followed with Angie. Catherine went into the dining room briefly to retrieve a small bag from the sideboard. She came back and gave one box from inside it to DJ and another to Angie.

"Go ahead," she encouraged DJ, kneeling by him again.

He carefully opened the box, his eyes widening as he looked at a green wreath ornament with a red bow, words on the top and bottom and his picture in the middle.

"That's me," he said, gently touching the picture, one of him smiling happily at the Thanksgiving football game. "And that's my name." He touched the familiar letters on the bottom of the wreath. "What's it say?" he asked, looking up at Catherine.

She lifted the ornament out of the box and gave it back to him. Pointing to the words, she read, " 'My First Christmas,' and there under your name is the year. 2019."

"My First Christmas …" he repeated quietly.

She touched his arm gently. "We know it's not your first Christmas ever, but it's your first Christmas here, in your new home, and we wanted you to have something to remember that. Something of your own to hang on the tree."

Steve knelt carefully, Angie still in his arms as she worked on getting her own box open. "What do you think, DJ? Do you like it?"

DJ looked at him and nodded. "It's a new memory," he said.

Steve smiled. "That's right. One you'll always have. No matter what."

DJ looked back at Catherine and smiled. "I like it," he said. "I like it a whole lot. Thank you."

She smiled warmly, squeezing his arm. "You're welcome."

"Daddy hewp," Angie said, shaking her small box at him.

He set her on feet and helped her get the top of the box open.

"Ohhh," she said, face lighting at the white heart ornament. "P'itty."

DJ looked over her shoulder and gasped, reaching out slowly to touch it.

Around the edges of the heart were the words, 'Our First Family Christmas,' and the year. In the center was a photo of Steve, Catherine, Angie, DJ, and Cammie taken on Thanksgiving after the adoption plan announcement.

"Dat's Mommy, dat's Daddy, dat's DJ, dat's Cammie, dat's Angie!" she said, pointing to each person in the photo.

"That's right, baby girl," Steve said, kissing her head. "That's our family."

"It says, 'Our First Family Christmas,' " Catherine read.

DJ blinked at them, tears filling his eyes for an entirely different reason now.

"And we can hang these on the Christmas tree every year?" he asked, the hope in his eyes clear as day.

"We sure can," Catherine said, blinking back her own tears. "Every single one."

DJ beamed. Looking at Angie, he held out his hand. "Come on, Angie, let's hang them on the tree."

"On da t'ee!" she echoed, not hesitating to put her hand in his.

Together they walked over to the tree, hand in hand. Steve and Catherine stood, wrapping an arm around each other as they watched DJ help Angie hang the heart ornament and then put his own right beside it. He reached over to touch the family picture, then smiled back at Steve and Catherine, Angie following his gaze and her own smile widening.

Turning again, the two children looked up at the brightly lit tree, half-covered in ornaments, with expressions of awe and delight.

"That's how you make memories," Catherine said quietly, tightening her arm around Steve and leaning closer.

He hummed softly and pressed a kiss to her head. "And memories are forever."

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed!**

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